A Black Room?...What do you folks think?

[DJ.IceRock]

This morning I had to take the Wife over to her church friend's home, We had to help take food to the church.
They had a lot of good hot food too, (fried chicken, mashed potatoes...mmmmm) to feed folks after services.
Anyway, I had met this lady and Her Husband before, He's into Music, Movies and Cars like Me...Yeah he's a Kewl dude too.
LOL.
Now to the good stuff...Yep Yep.
He said "Come Man, let me show You My System"...I was like 'Well Alrighty then.'
So We headed for the Basement and walked into a decent size room...
THE WALLS WERE PAINTED BLACK!...With 2 Black leather couchs and a Black leather recliner, 2 side tables and 2 nice bright lamps.

He had , what I would say was maybe a 75 inch flat screen on the wall with a super decent Panasonic Home Entertainment System under it...it consisted of a 5.1 Blueray Stereo Reciever, 4 tall wall Speakers in all four corners and HUGE Subwoofer in front on the floor.
So He threw in the First Fast and Furious Movie.
His System sounded OMG, AWESOME then He said "Now check this out" and He Clapped Twice.
AND THE LAMPS WENT OUT!... He Had A Freaking Clapper on Em.
TOTAL Darkness...The only thing You could see was the Big Screen, geez you could barely make out the TV Frame...He even had a black flannel flap to flip over the lights from the Blueray Player
DIG THE SOUND...DIG THE SOUND...DIG IT WITH MEEEEE!
What a Mancave...Simple, Clean...and Seriously Correct.

About 10 mins of relaxing and gettin into it...Our Wives called us to put those heavy Aluminum pans in the Cars and go to 10 AM Service.
I almost Cried...but My new buddy said I can come over anytime.
KEWL!
(Hell, I might just buy Me a couple gallons of Black Paint and a roller.)

 

[agarwalro]

He had , what I would say was maybe a 75 inch flat screen on the wall with a super decent Panasonic Home Entertainment System under it...it consisted of a 5.1 Blueray Stereo Reciever, 4 tall wall Speakers in all four corners and HUGE Subwoofer in front on the floor.

I have to admire your acquaintance's commitment and do believe that you were wowed, but, the gravy is in the details. Which TV, which Panasonic HTIB, which subwoofer?

Be ready to be shot down once those details are forthcoming. Why? Hint:

4 tall wall Speakers in all four corners

 

[ahblaza]

I have to admire your acquaintance's commitment and do believe that you were wowed, but, the gravy is in the details. Which TV, which Panasonic HTIB, which subwoofer?

Be ready to be shot down once those details are forthcoming. Why? Hint:

Shot down because he liked what he heard, regardless of the equipment that's a very deragatory assumption......remind me never to have you over for a listen.....Hint...don't worry about the reminder
Cheers Jeff

 

[ahblaza]

This morning I had to take the Wife over to her church friend's home, We had to help take food to the church.
They had a lot of good hot food too, (fried chicken, mashed potatoes...mmmmm) to feed folks after services.
Anyway, I had met this lady and Her Husband before, He's into Music, Movies and Cars like Me...Yeah he's a Kewl dude too.
LOL.
Now to the good stuff...Yep Yep.
He said "Come Man, let me show You My System"...I was like 'Well Alrighty then.'
So We headed for the Basement and walked into a decent size room...
THE WALLS WERE PAINTED BLACK!...With 2 Black leather couchs and a Black leather recliner, 2 side tables and 2 nice bright lamps.

He had , what I would say was maybe a 75 inch flat screen on the wall with a super decent Panasonic Home Entertainment System under it...it consisted of a 5.1 Blueray Stereo Reciever, 4 tall wall Speakers in all four corners and HUGE Subwoofer in front on the floor.
So He threw in the First Fast and Furious Movie.
His System sounded OMG, AWESOME then He said "Now check this out" and He Clapped Twice.
AND THE LAMPS WENT OUT!... He Had A Freaking Clapper on Em.
TOTAL Darkness...The only thing You could see was the Big Screen, geez you could barely make out the TV Frame...He even had a black flannel flap to flip over the lights from the Blueray Player
DIG THE SOUND...DIG THE SOUND...DIG IT WITH MEEEEE!
What a Mancave...Simple, Clean...and Seriously Correct.

About 10 mins of relaxing and gettin into it...Our Wives called us to put those heavy Aluminum pans in the Cars and go to 10 AM Service.
I almost Cried...but My new buddy said I can come over anytime.
KEWL!
(Hell, I might just buy Me a couple gallons of Black Paint and a roller.)

Word of caution my friend: this can be hazardous to your wallet, glad you enjoyed your experience, when you're ready to create your own setup, don't hesitate to talk about it here. This is a wonderful and fulfilling journey to embark on, mine started many many years ago and continues to this day. Welcome to the forum and Happy Holidays.
Cheers Jeff

 

[agarwalro]

Shot down because he liked what he heard, regardless of the equipment that's a very deragatory assumption......remind me never to have you over for a listen.....Hint...don't worry about the reminder
Cheers Jeff

Jeff you are reading too much into my post. I didn't assume anything nor degrade/belittle anyone's choices. I jocularly tried to caution the OP on a barrage of, 1)anti HTIB 2)value for money 3)proper placement, posts that is inevitable. Re-reading my post, I can see how the humor may be lost in transition from thought to post. Perhaps I needed the "" or "/s" so that there was no confusion.

If I come over for a listen and you have a Bose system or HTIB and claim it is the best thing in audio technology since Edison invented the phonograph, expect to be shot down .

 

[ahblaza]

Jeff you are reading too much into my post. I didn't assume anything nor degrade/belittle anyone's choices. I jocularly tried to caution the OP on a barrage of, 1)anti HTIB 2)value for money 3)proper placement, posts that is inevitable. Re-reading my post, I can see how the humor may be lost in transition from thought to post. Perhaps I needed the "" or "/s" so that there was no confusion.

If I come over for a listen and you have a Bose system or HTIB and claim it is the best thing in audio technology since Edison invented the phonograph, expect to be shot down .

I do have an all Bose setup, many years worth of research, no seriously, I pobably didn't see the intended humor, so I apologize if I came on a bit strong. I just put myself in the OP's position, kind of like when I went from a transistor radio to an all inclusive rack system big wake up call. Going from TV speakers to a HTIB is a big step up for a lot of people, but as we know you can get much better results with buying separate components for close to the same $ as a HTIB. So I didn't want the OP to feel intimidated being here among all us expert audiophools Take care agar, no harm no foul.

 

[Bryceo]

I'm on to it after the new year

 

[jostenmeat]

There's a dude here who goes way past black paint, and is extensively using velvet. Telescope grade black velvet makes black paint look like a bright mirror, to exaggerate a little bit. Of course this route is way more expensive.

If you go with black paint, I'd recommend looking into Rosco Supersaturated Velour #6003. I use "Mouse Ears" flat black (it's a Disney color) made by Behr. I am slightly disappointed in it, it's more reflective than I thought it would be.

Paints should have some sort of reflective grade given to them, but one way to test some competitors is to get some board, and paint samples with them all on it. Then put the board under a direct light, start angling it around, and you will immediately see which is flatter or less reflective.

 

[DJ.IceRock]

Well I'm gonna have to wait until I go back over His House to get the juicy details of the Blueray DVD Players model number.
I do know that the all 4 Tower speakers were all surround if that helps.
As far as MY project is concerned, The Wife said No Way am I painting any walls Black.
LOL!
So for arguement sake...Now I'm looking for some Huge Dull Black material or curtains.
LOL!

 

[MidnightSensi2]

If I saw that I'd think 'this guy watches a lot of porn' lol.

 

[DJ.IceRock]

If I saw that I'd think 'this guy watches a lot of porn' lol.

LOL!
(I bet he doesn't turn that up)

 

[agarwalro]

As far as MY project is concerned, The Wife said No Way am I painting any walls Black.
LOL!
So for arguement sake...Now I'm looking for some Huge Dull Black material or curtains.
LOL!

The most critical are walls are front (where TV is mounted) and ceiling (if using projector), to minimize distraction from video image. Further, they don't have to be black as long as the color is on the darker side and non reflective. So, dark grey, blue, green, brown or maroon will be just fine.

 

[DJ.IceRock]

The most critical are walls are front (where TV is mounted) and ceiling (if using projector), to minimize distraction from video image. Further, they don't have to be black as long as the color is on the darker side and non reflective. So, dark grey, blue, green, brown or maroon will be just fine.

Thanks for that advice.
I think I will concentrate on the front wall and ceiling first, That may just be all I need to do.

 

[BMXTRIX]

It is important to get your significant other on board with what you are trying to accomplish, and set expectations of your home and your space vs. her space vs both your and her spaces. If you've lost that battle already... well, just hold her purse and sit down.

Home theater is not inexpensive, but a proper room is a good start. If you think this is ever going to be your family room on the main floor, then you should already accept that you will be compromising.

But, a room in the basement? Especially if it is new construction work? Well, you really have some options then.

Dark colors work well. Burgundy, hunter green, midnight blue... If your wife says 'no black', then work with her to find something that isn't black. Rooms that are dark in color can be much more calm and peaceful than rooms that are extremely brightly painted. A room for relaxation shouldn't be white, or a light color, but a nice dark color.

Walls, carpet, and ceiling - dark - but not necessarily black if you can't swing it.

From there, it is important to understand that there is a huge difference between a $300 Costco special home theater system (no, they weren't all surrounds), and a properly implemented home theater setup. It doesn't have to run you $5,000... but, it could EASILY cost you $5,000 or $10,000, so set your expectations accordingly. If you have $1,000 to spend, understand that it truly is on the lower end of what home A/V has to offer. (my subwoofer would cost about $3,000 when it was new)

The important thing is to ask questions, be realistic about your budget and your living situaton. Accept that if your budget doesn't allow you to get what you want, then you will either need to compromise, build it in pieces, or just wait longer and save more. Most people here spent years building their setups. Some invested all at once, but they still typically made nice upgrades along the way.

As a big fan of front projection (ever see a 160" screen on your wall at home that rivals your local theater?) you can do really amazing things for just a few thousand dollars in video gear. You can do pretty nice things for a bit over $1,000. But, you should plan to spend as much on the audio side, if not more, than you do on the video side.

 

[ahblaza]

Well I'm gonna have to wait until I go back over His House to get the juicy details of the Blueray DVD Players model number.
I do know that the all 4 Tower speakers were all surround if that helps.
As far as MY project is concerned, The Wife said No Way am I painting any walls Black.
LOL!
So for arguement sake...Now I'm looking for some Huge Dull Black material or curtains.
LOL!

Hey DJ, these are what I use, very heavy canvas material, as far as paint, I use an egg shell finish, not flat and not shiny either, just right especially for cleaning, flat is too difficult to keep clean and streaks when wiped and it really is a dust magnet, if that makes sense. These curtains if you decide to go with them, make sure you get the Tab-Top Panels, much easier to put on the rod and they hang real nice, also very high WAF. I use the 52"W X 84" L panels, four for each side wall, you could get away with two though if you prefer the flatter look, I like the bunched look My wife and I work together on different projects as she has the eye or vision to see things prior to them being there But seriously they work for me with light filtering and some first room reflection issues. Here is the link. Good luck
Scenario® Cotton Canvas Solid Tab-Top Panels | Curtains & Drapes | Brylanehome

Cheers Jeff

 

[300exoh]

If you are looking for wife acceptance a medium to dark color on the walls combined with non-reflective fabric panels/curtains directly around the screen somewhat like an old theater would work well. Even dark shoji screens might work.

I do have one question about your friends theater setup...what happens to the lights if someone claps in the movie/program he's watching? Do they go on and off?? lol

 

[DJ.IceRock]

If you are looking for wife acceptance a medium to dark color on the walls combined with non-reflective fabric panels/curtains directly around the screen somewhat like an old theater would work well. Even dark shoji screens might work.

I do have one question about your friends theater setup...what happens to the lights if someone claps in the movie/program he's watching? Do they go on and off?? lol

Yeah I found some thick old dark purple curtains...Thanks for the reply.
As far as the second question.
Didn't think about that...I guess the lights would be blinking on an off with each two claps.
LOL!
Another question, If more than one person were clapping at the same time... would it confuse the Whole Lighting System?
Hmmmm.
HAHAHAHAHA.

 

[300exoh]

Yeah I found some thick old dark purple curtains...Thanks for the reply.
As far as the second question.
Didn't think about that...I guess the lights would be blinking on an off with each two claps.
LOL!
Another question, If more than one person were clapping at the same time... would it confuse the Whole Lighting System?
Hmmmm.
HAHAHAHAHA.

I can see programs with a live audience causing a few problems with the lighting...lol

 

[Bryceo]

If I saw that I'd think 'this guy watches a lot of porn' lol.

He can't it's a black room